Shields Sims was the son of Matthew Joseph and Dorothy Turley Greeson Sims of Wayne Co., Tn. He was named after his mother's brother, Hartwell "Hart" Greeson.

Hartwell Ebenezer Shields Sims and Edith Malinda Caroline Youngblood married on 1 Sept 1859 in Wayne Co., Tn. Their names were listed as EMC Youngblood and HEJS Sims. Their known children were:
- Genettia Josephine "Josie"
- infant daughter
- Mary Melinda
- Dorothy Jane
- Matthew Josiah "M. J."
- Sarah Elizabeth "Bessie" m. 1. Jim Davis, 2. Ed Morrison
- John Shields
- Frances Harriet "Fannie"

He is found in, Goodspeed's "History of Tennessee," Wayne Co. "Shields Sims was born in Wayne Co., Tn., Dec. 18, 1838, son of Matthew J. and Dorothy Greenson Sims, natives of North Carolina and Tennessee, respectively. The father was one of the early settlers of Giles Co., and a farmer by occupation. Since the war (Civil War) he has been engaged in the mercantile and tannery business in connection with farming. He is seventy-five years old and his wife is sixty-nine years of age. Shields Sims was reared on a farm and secured a good common education. At the age of twenty-one he began doing for himself, and in 1865 enlisted in Company H, Second Tennessee Mounted Infantry, Union Army, and served as first sergeant. After his return home, in 1865, he resumed farming and soon established a tan-yard, which he managed for four years, and then purchased his present farm of 290 acres on Falls Branch of Indian Creek. Besides this he owns 300 acres and has an interest in 160 acres near his home. He has farmed and raised stock on his present farm since 1870 and has met with good sucess. In 1859 he married Edith M. C. Youngblood, daughter of Josiah Youngblood.....Mr. and Mrs. Sims became the parents of eight children. Mr. Sims is a Republican, was magistrate of his district six years, and is now one of the board of school commissioners. He and family are members of the Baptist Church, and he has been a Mason since 1863 and joined the Union League in 1860."

Shields Sims appears in following US Federal Census records:
- 1850 for Waynce Co., Tn with parents and 5 siblings, listed as Howell (sic)
- 1860 for Wayne Co., Tn with spouse, Melinda Youngblood, occupation farmer, listed as Shields
- 1870 for Wayne Co., Tn with spouse and 5 children, occupation farmer, listed as Sdichdes (sic)
- 1880 for Wayne Co., Tn with spouse and six children, occupation farmer, listed as Shields
- 1900 for Wayne Co., Tn with spouse and two children, occupation farmer, listed as Shielde (sic)
- 1910 for Wayne Co., Tn with spouse, occupation farmer, listed Shields
- 1920 for Wayne Co., Tn with his son, John, daughter-in-law, Ethel, and grandson, Homer, occupation farmer, widowed, listed as Shields

In "The Pariss Sims family and Related Families 1765-1965" by Almon J. Sims, it states, "When his travels were over and his long useful life was spent, they laid him to rest beside his beloved wife in the Sims burying ground on the hill above his home, in the presence of a great host of relatives and friends." This book also contains many stories about his time during the Civil War, his travels west, and his life.

In this book his inscription on his tombstone reads, "He was a kind and affectionate husband, a fond father and a friend of all."

- compiled by Gaynelle Hobt Morton
- revised March 2017
- revised Aug 2020